Weekly This week, special highlights and news from the 2022 Venice Biennale, Pompeii heats up with an exhibition of erotic art, the Toledo Museum of Art offers Impressionist masterpieces for sale to diversify its collection, Turkey hands persecuted arts philanthropist Osman Kavala a life sentence, and Chicago threatens to put a removed Christopher Columbus statue back on its pedestal, among other stories. We also have reviews of Thornton Willis, Eamon Ore-Giron, Cindy Ji Hye Kim, Pratt Institute's MFA thesis exhibition, and more. This week we also published the 200th installment of A View From the Easel, our popular series by artists in their own words. And have you noticed the trend of medieval art memes online? Alicia Eler takes a deep dive into the internet phenomenon. Lastly, through August, I'll be filling in for our editor-in-chief Hrag Vartanian, who's taking his first sabbatical. Enjoy this much-deserved recharge time, Hrag! — Hakim Bishara, interim editor-in-chief Become a member today to support our independent journalism.
Your support helps keep our reporting and criticism free and accessible to all. Become a Member Installation view of the United States Pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale, featuring Simone Leigh’s “Satellite” (center) and Facade (structure in the background) (photo Laura Raicovich/Hyperallergic) Captivating Highlights From the 2022 Venice Biennale
Writer and curator Laura Raicovich shares her favorite works from the exhibition and moments of elevation during her Campari-fueled trip to Venice. SPONSORED After expanding its collection with work made by a broadly representative group of American artists, SAAM will feature more than 130 of these recently acquired pieces in a new exhibition. Learn more. NEWS THIS WEEK A fragment of a fresco depicting a nymph and a satyr (image courtesy Archaeological Park of Pompeii) A new exhibition of erotic art in Pompeii encompasses 70 works from the archeological site’s vast troves. The first Black women to represent their nations at the Venice Biennale, Simone Leigh and Sonia Boyce are awarded Golden Lions. Turkish arts philanthropist Osman Kavala was sentenced to life in prison for his alleged implication in the Gezi Park protests. The Toledo Museum of Art is planning to auction three impressionist paintings in a move towards "broadening the narrative of art history." A Mellon Foundation grant will support the preservation of a Diego Rivera mural at the San Francisco Art Institute. Scroll through geologic time with Ancient Earth, a new online tool guiding users through shifting landmasses. SPONSORED Curated by Todd Bradway and presented concurrently at Acquavella’s NYC and Palm Beach locations, this group exhibition features landscape paintings by 28 contemporary artists. Learn more. LATEST IN ART Eamon Ore-Giron, “Talking Shit with Coatlicue” (2017), Flashe on linen, 79 9/10 x 65 inches (image courtesy Cary Whittier) Abstraction From a Different Origin
Kealey Boyd on Eamon Ore-Giron: Competing with Lightning at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.Once Ore-Giron’s influences are understood as homegrown in the Americas and not secondary, derivative, or siloed, he tempts you to consider culture as a collective living concept, evolving through influences and destabilizing identity. Thornton Willis’s Aversion to Perfection
John Yau on Thornton Willis: A Painting Survey, Six Decades: 1967-2017 at David Richard Gallery. Exhibition view of Pratt MFA Fine Art and Photography Thesis Exhibition (photo by Federico Savini; courtesy Pratt Institute) The work in the show mirrors recent trends in contemporary art, favoring an immersive presentation that transcends the rectangular parameters of traditional painting. Opening Up the Thingness of Painting
John Yau Dana Lok: Part and Parse at Miguel Abreu Gallery. Submission from Alyson Champ, Saint-Chrysotome, Quebec, Canada A View From the Easel
The 200th(!) installment of A View From the Easel highlights artist studios from Nashville, Long Island, Quebec, and Philadelphia. Artists Go DIY in the Desert
Marya Errin Jones highlights how a tight-knit community of art entrepreneurs in Albuquerque launched their businesses in the wake of the pandemic. New Mexico’s First Risograph Studio Is All About Community
Bethany Tabor spotlights Risolana and how it wants to “cultivate an artmaking space as accessible as the risograph itself.” SPONSORED The Alaska museum is teaming up with a local writer and newspaper to help its community reconnect in a world changed by COVID. Learn more. Artists from across the Americas are collaborating on this open-access platform for radical learning and collective making in public spaces. Learn more. ALSO ON HYPERALLERGIC Meme from @artmemescentral (screenshot Natalie Haddad/Hyperallergic; image used with creator’s permission) What Makes Medieval Art So Meme-able?
Alicia Eler looks at how medieval imagery has been remixed, captioned, and somehow reads as peak hilarious.I laid in bed staring at the tiny screen in my hands, laughing maniacally, posting it to my Instagram story and sending it to all my close friends. How could this seemingly arcane medieval imagery, previously confined to an art museum or, perhaps, a European crypt, feel so meme-able? Was it the meme’s imagery or the caption above it? I had to find out. A Working-Class Artist Is Something to Be
Billy Anania shines a light on the Art Workers’ Inquiry and how its methods for art workers to speak openly on capitalism and colonialism. An Insightful Look Into the Lives of Women Over 50
Lauren Moya Ford reviews The Second Half: Forty Women Reveal Life After Fifty and how it celebrates the strength and insight of women across the world. Remembering James Bidgood, a Pioneer of Gay Film
“[Pink Narcissus]reflected some of my own sexual fantasies, but it also drew on the decadent atmospheres of cultural expressions I was exploring at the time…” — Francesco Dama A Removed Columbus Monument in Chicago Makes a Baffling Return
Rebecca Zorach: “When monuments mislead, they are taking space that could go to other, more accurate histories, or to artworks that pose questions instead of asserting answers.” Required Reading
This week, Karl Marx was wrong about “primitive communism,” Zoomers say they’ve had enough of TikTok, and great news: Time travel is within the realm of possibility. IN OUR STORE A fun and elegant way to cushion drinks, these coasters are based on rugs dating from the 14th–19th centuries in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. Shop more art-inspired coasters! | 